Stay on message, PM tells caucus

An upbeat
Julia Gillard
has counselled her MPs to stay focused on policy and not navel gaze over the West Australian election result.

The Prime Minister delivered her message to the caucus on Tuesday after leadership speculation dissipated on the back of the latest Newspoll, which showed a small increase in Labor’s primary vote and that Ms Gillard had regained her lead over Opposition Leader
Tony Abbott
as preferred prime minister.

But the meeting was not without drama: a group of MPs rounded on Sports Minister
Kate Lundy
over drug allegations surrounding sport, saying unnecessary damage was being inflicted.

Supporters of former prime minister
Kevin Rudd
were frustrated at the Newspoll, which showed Labor’s primary vote had risen 3 percentage points to 34 per cent and the Coalition's two-party-preferred lead had shrunk to 52 per cent to 48 per cent.

While the figures, if repeated on election day, would see Labor bundled out of office, the improvement killed the momentum the Rudd supporters were trying to build for a leadership change.

Mr Rudd has ruled out challenging for the leadership, leaving his camp to hope the case for change becomes so overwhelming that Ms Gillard is tapped on the shoulder by her praetorian guard or steps aside. Both prospects remain remote. State Labor’s heavy loss in WA sapped morale further but Ms Gillard told caucus the federal party should move on.

“It was inevitable that analysis would take place but people don’t want us to look at ourselves,’’ she was quoted as telling colleagues.